A Smile is the First Step
by Master thief Gray Shadow
Summary: Nico takes to heart an important lesson from an important person.


Even as the other children rushed to greet their parents, she sat alone in a far corner, head buried in her lap. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she would sometimes let out a tiny little sniffle. She'd already cried hard earlier. Now the only thing she could do was weep quietly. She could vaguely hear the noise in the room slowly going down, until it was almost completely quiet. She was the only kid left.

Just in time. She could feel it coming again.

The tears welled up once more, the second wave crashing down on her with just as much intensity as the first. Her tiny body was wracked with sobs as it all came out once more, every little bit of pain she'd suffered during the day. At least there was nobody to point and call her a crybaby this time. Her cries were so loud and so intense that she didn't register the footsteps that stopped just in front of her.

"Hey kiddo."

Her ears perked up at the sound of the familiar voice. She lifted her head to see an equally familiar pair of boots, and her eyes trailed upward until they landed upon a scruffy, smiling face that she immediately recognized.

"Papa?"

Her father smiled before kneeling down to her level. He removed his sunglasses, his deep blue eyes now looking into her own. "Someone told me you had a hard day. Do you want to tell Papa about it?"

She sniffed again. "The others are always mean to me. The boys pull my hair and today one of the girls took my favorite doll and teased me about it."

His eyebrows knitted together as he took in what she was saying. "Aww, Nico," He said, opening his arms. "That wasn't nice of them at all. C'mere."

Nico rushed into his arms and found herself wrapped in a tight hug. She nuzzled into his shoulder, the scent of exhaust clinging to his leather jacket oddly comforting. His gloved hand slowly stroked her back, and Nico could feel herself relaxing a little. Here in his arms she was safe. No one would pull her hair or take her toys as long as she was right here.

"Do you want to go home?"

Nico nodded against his shoulder. He eased her out of the hug so he could look her in the eye again.

"Okay, we can go home. But only if you smile for me."

Smile? On a day like today? What kind of craziness was this? "Why?"

He smiled warmly at her, as if demonstrating what he wanted her to do. "A smile is the first step to having a better day. And I want you to have a better day."

Nico puffed her cheeks out. "I can't smile right now."

He laughed softly. "Sure you can. Watch." The two middle fingers on each of his hands curled inward as he raised his arms up to his head, leaving two fingers and his thumb sticking out. A huge, toothy smile spread across his face and his eyes sparkled as he cheerfully said a strange little phrase. "Nico-nico-nii!"

Nico cocked her head. "What was that?"

He beamed at her. "It's a little something to make people smile. Go on, you try it."

Nico looked down at her hands, struggling to do with her fingers what he had just done. It was harder than it looked, especially for someone with such tiny hands. Finally she managed to get her hands right and raised them up, just as he had done. "Nico-nico-nii!" She mimicked, a bright smile on her face.

He clapped enthusiastically. "Good job! Look at that smile, it's making me smile too!" A huge grin was plastered across his face, and his eyes twinkled brightly.

"It is?" Nico's own smile grew larger, if that were even possible.

"Oh yeah! Man, you could get the whole world to smile just like that!" Nico's previous sadness was completely forgotten as she imagined spreading smiles all over, brightening everyone's day.

"Nico could make the whole world smile…" She said wistfully.

"Yeah," He replied, extending his hand, which she grabbed with both of hers. "Come on kid, let's head home."

* * *

Nico clutched the bouquet of yellow tulips tighter. The train was a little packed, typical for a Sunday afternoon, which made her all the more eager to get off. The train finally ground to a halt and Nico heard her stop being announced, so she eagerly disembarked and headed for the nearest bus station. This was the last leg of her journey. She just had to endure one bus ride, and she would be there.

The ride was uneventful, and she soon found herself staring at the gates to her destination. Beyond lay rows upon rows of headstones, and Nico could faintly smell the scent of incense. Clutching the flowers to her chest she strode through the gate into the graveyard, navigating the graves until she stopped in front of a rather modest looking one. She found herself reading the name several times, like she usually did.

 _Yazawa Kotaro_

Nico set the flowers down as she moved into a sitting position, legs crossed. "Hey Papa. I didn't take off school to visit you this year, so I guess that's one good thing that happened." A gentle wind blowed, rustling Nico's hair. "A lot of good things have happened though. You know the idol research club? It has nine members now. Nine! Nine whole members! And we have a group called μ's and we're entering competitions and stuff! Well, one competition. And we didn't win. But Nico's out there making so many people smile." Nico leaned back a little, looking up at the sky and feeling the breeze on her face.

"Life at home is good. Mama got a promotion recently so she's been busier than ever, and I've been watching over Cocoro, Cocoa and Cotaro more often. They're doing good, but I'm working so hard with school and idol stuff that it's hard to catch a break…" Nico let out a long exhale, and the wind seemed to respond in kind. "But I get through it. Because I'm Nico, and even when I have bad days, I smile." She looked back at the grave, reading the name on it one more time.

"Because a smile is the first step to having a better day."


End file.
